InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ In the Dark ❯ Take me from here ( Chapter 12 )

In The Dark

Chapter 12

Take me from here.

 

Her black hair shimmered in the bright sun, the carefree strands flowed with the cooler wind, caressing each violent blow and subduing it with ease. Her laughter rang through the yard and tickled his ears, bringing a feeling of joy in his heart and wholeness. Her eyes twinkled with amusement as she watched him flick his ears, sensitive to her life sounds and that of the loud whistle of the wind. Her fingers spread out toward his and she reached for him, a tender smile playing across her lips, his name lingering on them. He wanted nothing more than to bend down towards her and capture them in between his own, intertwine his fingers within her own, his hair mixing itself within hers watching how they mingled and linked themselves to each other, making them one and she smiled. Her heart shined through that smile and she placed her face against his chest and whispered only for him

 

"I will find you my love" her voice was barely audible but it rang true to his heart and he felt the sudden pang of hope in his heart. He stared over her head and watched the leaves of autumn flow in the currents of the wind and held her only closer to him, not wanting to lose this one moment with her. "I know Kagome... I'll try to hold on just a little longer for you..." She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears from her love for him and her fears of what could become of him. His eyes reflected the same emotion.

 

The wind surrounding them was peaceful and comforting as he held her closer to him. His lips met her own in a swift embrace, the feel of her flesh against his own renewed his strength and soon the kiss turned into desperation, tears flowed freely from Kagome's eyes as she let her lover drink her essence to replenish his own strength. His own eyes threatened to dampen with his sadness as he desperately clung to his mate, his lover, and his best friend. Her fingers climbed against his clothed body and pressed into his silver mane as they kissed each other's soul in attempt to reassure one another that they were real and not so isolated.

 

Kagome whimpered as she began to feel the stirring of her mind waking and his embrace began to weaken. His eyes opened and there she saw a deep sadness that shook her to the core. His fingertips lightly touched her face, tracing the Kanji for wife and lover on her cheeks and he kissed her goodbye lightly on her trembling lips. The pleasant breeze had died and the sun grew cold, his golden eyes were losing their shimmer as he melted away from her. She openly wept now and held on as long as possible to his fading image, he smiled to her one last time before the darkness overtook him, his words softly carried back to her. "Take me from the darkness Kagome..."

 

****

 

The light assaulted Kagome's eyes as she stirred from her dreams, her soul cried out in misery as the sensation of Inuyasha's touch left her body and memory. She felt the familiar pang of despair and pain after these meetings with him. She wasn't sure if they were really meetings between the lovers, or just dreams to reassure her thoughts. Inuyasha had been missing for over 3 months now, no word or lead to where he may be. There had been rumors reported by the Buddhist priests of a revival of demons in the cities and Sesshomaru had merely frowned at the news of the possibility that Naraku may still be trying to control the Youkai. Kagome rolled over in her bed, burying herself further into the fluffy sheets, creating a barrier against the barrage of the sun. She grumbled at it, narrowing her eyes at the light and claimed to herself that someday she would create a spell to block out the sun. Her brother peered inside her room at the specific moment as she ranted about the obscenity of the sun and laughed.

 

"You know, they're called blinds and you don't need any magic for them." Souta grinned as he spoke.

 

Kagome shrieked in surprise and was quick to throw her pillows at him. He made a hasty retreat out of her room but not before she managed to nail him with one of her stuffed weapons. She heard him laugh again as his heavy footsteps moved down the hall and finally began to land on the stairs. She half expected her mother to yell at him for being an elephant but remembered that today she would be away. Kagome's mind wandered again to Inuyasha and where he could be. She feared the worst for him... She recalled Sesshomaru's mention of his odd experience with a musical device that made him lose control of his youkai and how he had nearly killed his wife. They had discussed the 50 years of Inuyasha's slavery to Naraku. She had seen his suffering at the hands of this monster for 50 years and the memories of that time still burned within her, she felt such outrage and sadness that her Inuyasha had gone through such chaos. They all feared that Naraku could exercise his hold on him once more and control him again in his feverish search of the Shikon Jewel.

 

Kagome threw the covers away from her slender body and raised herself into a sitting position, still cursing at the brightness of the sun. The Shikon Jewel. That was a mystery she was still trying to unravel. Her grandfather had not been very helpful in helping her discover its location; the only thing he knew in detail was the destructive properties of the pink crystal and its true nature, but nothing of its location. She had searched the histories available to her, myths, legends, folk stories about the jewel but nothing concrete some even mentioned that the jewel had not been completely rebuilt when Inuyasha and Kikyo searched for them. There were even rumors in the youkai community that Naraku was keeper of some of the broken pieces. This made Kagome worry. She stepped away from her bed, standing uneasily, her mind still light with the touches of Inuyasha as she bent over to her desk and picked up her jeans and shirt. A shimmer in her desk mirror caught her attention. She brought her face closer to the reflection and her eyes grew wide and filled with unshed tears. Her heart soared and squeezed itself from sorrow as her fingers traced the silver traces on her cheek. She bit her lip as she traced the kanji left there in her dream. She nodded to herself and felt the magic work itself into her soul as she remembered what he had whispered to her in that final moment, her lips whispered them as a single tear dropped from her eyes "Wife and lover..."

 

***

 

Kagura narrowed her eyes in the darkness of the holding cells. The red glint was not hard to miss in the darkness and it frightened her to say the least. He was not one to be taken lightly or to be underestimated. She had learned that long ago. The memory of her first encounter with Inuyasha in his full demon form had marked her. He was untamed, full of bitter rage, cold and uncaring. A true youkai, more so than all the other pure bloods she had encountered. His human mind could not control the hot blood of full youkai and as a result caused him to be extremely powerful if not a little barbaric. She walked gracefully to his cell, confident he could not harm her in any way with the enchanted chains keeping him at bay. She peered into the cell quietly and noted that he was not paying attention to her. She found this strange.

 

In the past, Inuyasha had always sensed her coming, sniffing her out from miles away, and eagerly waiting to break free to destroy anything that came close to him. He was always thirsty for death and destruction but this time he merely looked up, glared at her and ignored her. His red eyes screamed of hatred towards her and his confinement but he seemed calm. This was not the Inuyasha she had grown to fear and respect from 450 years ago. She rattled the door loudly to startle him but only received a menacing growl that warned her to not do that again. She swallowed hard as she watched him stand up and pull at the restraints. Testing them. His head bopped from one side to the next, examining the bracers.

 

"What do you want?"

 

She heard the smooth deep voice of the youkai, his voice was threatening and sharp but at the same time there was a bit of curiosity to the tone. Kagura noted that he truly was curious. This was not the mindless youkai she knew. Inuyasha was getting rather annoyed at his visitor, he was having trouble controlling the rage screaming to be free, and to tug at the chains until they broke, to rejoin her... the woman that haunted him at night. His mind was always more calm the next day when he woke from those dreams. There was something important about that woman he couldn't quite place it yet but she smoothed the monster inside him. He listened to the breathing of his visitor and contemplated his next move. She wanted something from him obviously...

 

"What's happened to you Inuyasha?"

 

He blinked in surprise and snorted loudly in disbelief. What kind of question was that? "Are you here to pester me with idiotic questions or do you have another purpose?" He growled loudly in annoyance and scraped his nails against the rock, making a high strung noise that made Kagura step away from the cell. She was getting rather annoyed.

 

"You are not the mindless beast my master prides in having. You are quite different from those 450 years ago when we first captured and controlled you." She spoke with curiosity and moved slow changing her weight from one foot to the next.

 

Inuyasha eyed her suspiciously and thought for a moment if he should answer. He smiled suddenly at her, his long fangs exposed for the first time and she was struck at his beauty. He wasn't sure why but he was almost certain that the young woman he kept dreaming about had that effect on him and this gave him an idea to her significance. "This time you were careless." he spoke low and laughter wrapped itself around every word. He turned his back to her and pressed his forehead against the cool stone of his cell. Closing his eyes he remembered bits of her soft fragrance and echoes of her laughter. He felt his youkai blood wean a bit, his human side battling to surface.

 

Kagura narrowed her eyes and tried to remember about the night she found him in that demolished home. There was something odd about the bodies spread about the home and she did wonder about the relation with the people there. Something incredible had happened there just before she arrived but she lacked the information... She needed to do some heavy research into that night and who were the people he was with.

 

Kagura suddenly turned on her heels and backtracked to the entrance. Inuyasha listened to her fading footsteps and finally let his youkai blood fully surface. His restraint was admirable but the beast was angry at being separated from his other half and it was tearing at him inside. He felt he was losing an important battle if he did not get away soon, his human side was fading and for the first time in his life, he feared to lose his humanity.

 

***

 

Kagome stared absently at the book before her, laying flat on the table. You never would have guessed that this bound leather book held such information. She closed her eyes and frowned lightly at what she read. This was troubling. She extended her index finger again and lightly traced the edge of the page in thought, her eyes following the hand-written kanji of the page, not registering the information it provided.

 

"The shikon jewel is the bearer of four souls locked in battle for all eternity. The conflict within the jewel gives it the ability to grant great power to the holder and amplifies evil or good. A priestess of purity can hold the jewel and keep it from the taint of evil, bearing the responsibility and guard of the purity of the Jewel. No one understands the purpose of the jewel but all know that it must be kept from evil at all costs. There is only one way to destroy the jewel and that is only through a special ceremony that will grant one wish."

 

The words played over inside her mind as her index finger finally came to rest on the name of the author. "Kikyo" she said, out loud. Rin looked up from her own readings in surprise and said "What about her?" Kagome blinked rapidly, coming out of her slight stupor and looked quickly over to Rin before promptly returning to her book.

 

"She wrote information on the jewel here in this leather book my grandfather found in the shrine. It's old and faded and the ceremonies required to destroy the jewel are no longer readable. But I did find the basics of the jewel and its power." Her eyes focused once again on the ancient writing and she squinted a bit, making sure she hadn't missed anything. Rin looked thoughtfully at Kagome for a minute and said "We could see if we can get the ink to be restored by professionals."

 

*Could that be possible?* Kagome thought to herself and gave Rin a hopefully glance. For the first time a glimmer of the old Kagome appeared before Rin and she saw Kagome's true soul emerge; it had long disappeared since Inuyasha had been taken from her. She rose from her seat and slowly advanced towards Kagome and gathered her in her arms for a gentle hug. "We'll see what we can do Kagome. This is important to both of you and most likely the fate of the people in this world."

 

Kagome nodded and held on to Rin for a few more moments and finally felt deep within her that they were getting somewhere.

 

***

Inuyasha could sense it, the jewel. It was so close to him, it was making him crazy. The waves of power, tainted with evil were forcing him to remain in his youkai form. That power was irresistible, his youkai was drinking every ounce it was allowed and his powers were amplified with each passing moment. His human soul feared the changes in him but at the same time knew that this change in him was different than 450 years ago. He felt the beast within him more contained, he felt a link within him that kept him from slipping into the beast that was his youkai half. His mind was still cold and calculating, unaffected by the internal pleas of his human half but somehow, it remained balanced in Chaos and allowed human thought to infiltrate it. It was that woman he dreamt of, she was linked to him and kept him alive.

 

He was restless, tired of thinking about her, tired of waiting for his captors to do something with him, tired of only tasting the power of the jewel and never use it. His clawed hands wrapped themselves around the chains of his imprisonment and he yanked hard, his lips pulling back away from his teeth, his knuckles turning white, his eyes squinting to the effort. His feet dug into the ground as he pulled as hard as his demon soul could muster and yet nothing happened. He was still just sitting there, waiting for something to happen. He growled, loudly and ferociously. His temper flaring at the empty room. He needed some action, some distraction, anything other than this imprisonment of boredom.

 

Naraku's lips turned into a slight smile as he watched the inu-youkai begin to grow restless. "He's almost ready." Kagura glanced over to him with a curious look, wondering what he meant then focused her eyes on the demon below, circling his cage.

 

"Ready for what?"

 

Naraku glanced at her and merely shrugged. "His human side is subsiding. He's growing restless. It's taken a while but keeping him near the tainted shards has allowed him to let his youkai take over his softer and logical side. Soon he will be once again the fearful beast I want him to be and there will be no human in him to prevent it."

 

***

 

Sango was about to lose it, she had just about enough of his antics and stupidity. She loved him but for christ sake, this had been quite enough. She looked down to his slumped form on the ground, clutching a bottle and she had to resist the urge to kick him, and kick him hard in the ribs. Miroku was sleeping soundly on her floor, he had collapsed the previous night from exhaustion.

 

Sango poked him awake with her foot in slight annoyance and said "You can stop clutching that massage oil bottle, it's empty" Miroku looked shocked she would even suggest such a thing. "Let go of the item that has given me the best memories of my life with my sweet tempered Sango?! Never!" She sighed loudly and stepped over him, her naked body still held a shine from the oils he had smeared over her body the previous night.

 

"I have to shower. I'm sticky." Miroku grinned as he stood from the floor "I don't recall you minding all that much last night..." He was hit, hard and unannounced by a half eaten strawberry and he groaned as the juice painfully slipped into his unprotected eye.

 

"You had best not try to get me going this morning my dear, we have a lot of work to do today" She smiled sweetly to him and kissed his injury. He grinned and nodded "Yes, we have to follow that lead on Inuyasha." She nodded at him while she strolled to the bathroom and Miroku stared after her. He loved this woman and he couldn't imagine being separated from her. His thoughts turned somber at the work he had ahead of him today. They had managed to track down some youkai that had seen Naraku in the last few weeks and one might even know where the man resided. It's been hard to see Kagome in the last few months, there was something in her that seemed to be fading slowly and it alarmed him, her aura was being strained and was disappearing.. He didn't know what it meant at first but then he realized that it must mean they were running out of time with Inuyasha and that his own soul was vanishing in the hands of Naraku. They had to press on even when it seemed hopeless.

 

Sango came out of the bathroom and was met with the smell of coffee and burned toast. She smiled and thought of Miroku's efforts. He was trying to be more domesticated and it made her laugh when he half screamed in triumph when his toast didn't burn or if he managed to not spill anything. She grinned at his look of defeat while he poked his knife on his toast, wondering why he bothered when nothing worked right but then he remembered it was the look of amusement in Sango's eyes that kept him at it.

 

She sipped her coffee slowly and buttered her burned toast heavily before thanking him for his breakfast, he may not be a good cook but his lovemaking abilities were a total different story. She flushed a bit at the thought of last night and cleared her throat.

 

"Where are we meeting him?"

 

"Her." he corrected. "She will be meeting us at this little cafe, not far from here." Sango nodded and sipped again.

 

"What information does she have for us?"

 

"She might be able to tell us where we can locate Naraku or at least point us in the right direction. She seemed to know quite a bit about him." He responded. He felt a bit uneasy about this meeting. There was something about that informant that didn't sit right with him, he was certain there was something about her that was with ill intent. She had sounded familiar to him but he wasn't sure if she was familiar to him or to the memories he had been forced to absorb. Sango nodded again and noted that he seemed a bit worried.

 

"How are you doing with the memories?" she asked him, before letting the hot liquid slip between her lips.

 

"I'm doing better. It's been hard to digest everything that's happened to Inuyasha. There was so much to absorb in such a short while that I thought I was never going to recover from the mental shock." His recovery had been slower than Kagome's after he had been forced into the mind of Inuyasha. One of the reasons being he wasn't Inuyasha's intended recipient and the memories were not for him to see. His soul had rejected strongly at the absorption and he's never been quite the same. He was haunted by the brutality of the youkai memories and they were still a jumbled mess, not really knowing who was friend and who was foe in the past of Inuyasha.

 

Maybe that's why he felt so uneasy with this informant he had come across, there was a sense of familiarity with her that he was unsure if it was his own or that of Inuyasha. There was also that weird feeling of dread, of bitterness that accompanied it that made him somewhat worry. He just felt very much in the dark about everything.

 

Sango finished her coffee and brought the cup to the sink, watched her lover lose himself in thought again and she sighed, she hated when he became somber like this, it made her fear what he was thinking of. Usually it was never good.

 

"Let's go, we will be late my love." He heard Sango's voice break his thoughts and smiled briefly to her. "Yes, we must hurry, it is nearly time."

 

***

 

Kagura stood alone in the shop, waiting for her order to be met by the server. She stretched her neck in annoyance at the slow service when she noticed from the corner of her eye two figures step inside the small cafe, the meeting place. She narrowed her eyes a bit at their faces and confirmed what she thought, this was the man she had seen that night she found Inuyasha in the demolished home. But that woman was not the third person there that night. She frowned heavily at this, she was still a mystery to her and it was bound to be bad news to her master's plans. Never the less, Naraku was unaware of her meeting with them and it would remain that way as long as she lived. She hadn't told him about her conversation with Inuyasha and the changes she had noted in the youkai.

 

"Hello." She said lightly to the couple walking by her. Miroku stopped and stared at her, recognizing her briefly but it fleeted his mind as soon as he thought of it, just hanging at the tip of his tongue. "Hello, are you Guraka?" Kagura nodded. "Yes."

 

"Pleased to meet you, this is Sango, my partner in everything." Kagura nodded to the female accompanied with him and she also nodded in recognition. Sango felt something odd about that woman, like she wasn't quite what she seemed but Miroku seemed to be at eased with her so she let it go.

 

"Let us find some seating, shall we?" Kagura asked, pointing to seats further into the cafe. Miroku lead the way with Sango in tow, Kagura followed after them. Miroku was confused, she seemed very familiar to him but he couldn't quite place her and her name seemed to be a complete blank to him. He needed to know more about these memories haunting him to rely on them for clear information but he needed Inuyasha for that, or Kagome but she didn't know about his experience with the absorption. She would be horrified to know that he had been exposed to all of the evils of her mate. Maybe he was just being stubborn but he couldn't give her that to bear, it was his burden to carry.

 

He seated himself to the furthest table and waited for Guraka. Her eyes flashed red in the dimming lights and he shivered at those red eyes, something clicking inside him.

 

Kagura sat down to the table and prepared to tell them her fitted lies about Naraku's intentions and location and as she began her tale, Miroku's eyes glazed over, lost in the sudden memory of Inuyasha's past. The crimson eyes glinting in the dark, the musical voice singing to him, enchanting his blood, burying him under the chaos of himself. Miroku shivered at the thought of Inuyasha struggling to keep himself whole, to keep himself sane.

 

"How much longer?" Miroku asked. Kagura stopped talking and looked at him, unsure of what he meant. "How much longer to what?"

 

"How much longer until Inuyasha loses his mind?" his voice was laced with urgency as his mind played over the memory of Inuyasha transforming and burying all signs of his humanity.

 

"How much longer!? I know you know something!" He said sternly, his voice urgent and filled with worry and anger. Kagura blinked.

 

"I'm not sure what you are talking about. I'm not aware of his state." she replied calmly. Her eyes trying to be understanding but Miroku suddenly had the feeling she wasn't who she pretended to be.

 

"You're hiding something." He grabbed her hand and whispered something to her and she froze. She pulled her hand from him hard and stood up. "I've told you what I knew."

 

"And they are lies... Kagura." Miroku watched her walk away from them, speedily towards her car. Sango stared at her boyfriend confused. What had just happened? Kagura?

 

"Come on Sango, I think I know where to find him. I need to speak with Kagome." He grabbed her hand , left a tip on the table and walked out the door, some things were starting to make sense to him but he still needed help.

 

***

 

Kagome frowned. "Kagura met with you?"

 

"Yes. She had tracked me down and had told me she knew some information about Naraku. The more she talked though, the more I remembered about her and when her eyes glinted in the darkness, it triggered a series of jumbled memories but the glow of her eyes was imprinted in the memories."

 

Kagome sighed. She couldn't believe that he had absorbed some of the memories of Inuyasha's past. It was already pretty hard for her to swallow but at least there was no confusion in her memories about the friends and foes.

 

"Kagura is an enchanter for Naraku, she was birthed and brought up to sing for him and transfer the magic of the jewel to the ears of youkai to control them. I wonder what she wanted with you?" Kagome asked thoughtfully.

 

Miroku shrugged. "I'm not sure but I am not relying on any information she told us, it's as if she wanted to check something. I fear something will happen to Inuyasha soon. We need to figure out these memories and maybe we can track him down."

 

She agreed. They needed to sit down and look at what Inuyasha had given them in his memories to help them. Everything was old and ancient, from 450 years ago but maybe Sesshomaru could provide directions...

 

***